Andy Lopez, shot and killed by a Sonoma County sheriff’s deputy two weeks ago.

Today was another day of protests in Santa Rosa over the fatal shooting two weeks ago of eighth-grader Andy Lopez by a Sonoma County sheriff’s deputy. About 100 people showed up this morning to address the regular meeting of the county Board of Supervisors about the killing. Afterward, a crowd of about 200 marched to the nearby Hall of Justice to demand a grand jury investigate the case.

The deputy who shot Lopez, Erick Gelhaus, spotted the 13-year-old on Oct. 22 carrying what turned out to be a pellet-gun replica of an AK-47 assault rifle. Gelhaus opened fire when Lopez didn’t immediately comply with an order to put the gun down and instead began turning toward the deputy. Gelhaus, a 24-year department veteran with extensive experience as a police weapons trainer, fired eight shots, hitting Lopez seven times.

Santa Rosa police investigators have emphasized the similarity between the toy gun Lopez was carrying and an actual AK-47. Critics of the shooting have focused on the brief span — apparently less than 10 seconds — between the moment Gelhaus and his partner spotted the teenager and when Gelhaus opened fire.

Santa Rosa resident Alfredo Sanchez dramatized that issue at this morning’s three-hour Board of Supervisors meeting, saying he was convinced Lopez’s ethnicity played a part in the decision to shoot him.

Some in the audience raised questions about community policing and citizen oversight.

Vince Harper of Community Action Partnership, a Santa Rosa-based anti-poverty organization, said the Latino families he works with are asking a difficult question: “How can I trust that when I call the police this won’t happen to my family — to my kids?”

The Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported that leaders of the march would be meeting with Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch to discuss the case.

Lopez’s family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit (see document below) on Monday against Gelhaus and Sonoma County, saying the killing was “a senseless and unwarranted act of police abuse.”

Among other details that depart from the current police account of the shooting, the suit alleges that only three seconds elapsed between the deputies’ first shouted warning to Lopez and the time Gelhaus began shooting. The suit also says the deputies never identified themselves as police officers and that Gelhaus continued firing even after the mortally wounded Lopez fell to the ground.

Talk about a bunch of crap! Andy’s ethnicity played no role in the deputy’s decision to shoot him. Because just like what happened in the Trayvon Martin case, once again the race card is being played. If you want to hear a recorded announcement about Andy Lopez, call (707) 266-7495.

Jordan Shay

All reports have stated that Andy Lopez was walking away from officers when they confronted him. He was shot after not complying with officers orders to drop his weapon, but instead began to turn towards them. Autopsy reports confirm that he was shot in the side as he was turning towards officers. If he was not shot until he began to turn, how could officers have known his ethnicity or age. He was 5’4″ and 140 lbs. I don’t believe that this is uncommon for a Hispanic male adult.

JB fairness

For Gilhos as well as thousands more of the Leos out there, it was and is “Racial profiling”, at worst, and Premeditated murder, at best because of gilhos’s past reputation of pointing his weapon at many citizen on traffic stops; He has a propensity to use a military style approach in a residential setting. This makes him and many other Leos a disturbing danger to the public and they shouldn’t be on the streets around people and certainly not working as an Leo, nor holding a fire-arm..